Advocates of a specialized school for kids with learning disabilities in London are ramping up their fight to keep the facility open.
The province has been assessing whether to close Amethyst Demonstration School and the Robarts School for the Deaf, which share a site on Highbury Ave. Now parents with children at Amethyst are planning a rally in front of the facility on Wednesday.
Organizer Wendy Haggitt says parents of past, present, and future applicants to the school are coming together to increase community awareness.
"We want to let everyone know it was actually the government who capped the enrollment at these schools," says Haggitt. "They keep saying enrollment is down. Enrollment is down because the government has capped the amount of students that can be accepted each year."
Amethyst is allowed to accept 42 children, grades 7-10, into its program each year, a far cry from the 138 students it was once allowed.
Haggitt, whose daughter has attended Amethyst for two years, says the school is life changing for students.
"You walk in there and you don't think you ever have a chance of attending post secondary school," says Haggitt. "But if you ask anyone of the students now, they definitely are going to go on to further education and have a better life."
A handful of MPPs have already agreed to attend the rally. Haggitt hope to get as many people to attend as possible.
"Whether you have a student who goes to Amethyst or not come and support us," says Haggit. "These schools are amazing. It gives those children hope and belief in themselves. What we are trying to do is to keep these schools open and uncapped so they can run at full capacity.
The peaceful rally will take place out front of Amethyst School at 4:30pm.
